Importance of Standards

Devices need to communicate: they Need a standard/common language. It is called a Protocol. A communication protocol.

Devices from one manufacturer need to work with a device from another manufacturer.

Imagine a D-Link WAP: Laptops need to connect to it; PDAs need to connect to it; 3COM Wireless NICs need to connect to it; They use a standard – eg 802.11g. This is a wireless communication protocol that all these devices can use to connect.